Literature Circles: Post #3

"My job was to man the front desk, answer the phone, find patient charts in the packed file cabinets behind me, or fill out on for new patients," Julia Alvarez, narrator. Page 105.

The quote obviously relates back to the topic of what the role of the character was back in their home country. In the Dominican Republic Julia worked for her father as the receptionist. During the time when Julia lived in the Dominican Republic, I would have thought that is was not very common for the father and the daughter, or any two family members to be working together.

I can definitely relate to the quote because I have done many things with my dad in which we were working together. Whether I am helping him with a project around the house, making improvements or fixing things, I always seem to end up working with my dad, which seems to be a good partnership because we are always very successful when we work together.

Julia was about our age or older when she was working as the receptionist for her father, do you think you would have been able to be responsible enough to work in a doctor's office? Why or why not?

"The way I might wince at an ethnic joke in which I recognize in exaggerated from a cultural trait I'm not very proud of," Julia Alvarez, narrator. Page 119.

This quotes is something that made me think of all the hardships that Julia faced while living in America. This quote obviously shows that Julia sometimes feels as though she is not proud of her original Latino culture. Julia must have faced situations in the past that made her almost want to regret the fact that she is a Latino.

This quotes really surprised me because is seems as thought Julia is very proud to be a Latino. Especially because she is so involved and dedicated to quinceaneras. They way she talks about coming to America and facing hardships was very minimal because Julia had given me the impression that she did not face any major difficulties coming here.

Why don't you think that Julia is proud of her culture?

Literature Circles: Post #2

"The study confirms Will's point that the up-and-coming generation of Hispanic teens is 'predominately bilingual and bicultural," Julia Alvarez, narrator. Page 70.

I chose this quote because I felt that it really shows how the next generation of Latinos are making an effort to stay close to their original culture. Many of Hispanic teens are learning how to speak Spanish, because that is their original culture's language. Also Latino teens are keeping up with the religious and cultural traditions even though they were born America.

I think it is really great that this next generation of Hispanic teens are interested in staying close with their culture and wanting to learn and keep of the traditions to show that they care about their culture. If I was Hispanic, I would definitely try to be involved with my culture and keep it up by having a quinceanera.

Why or why not do you think it is important to keep up with your culture?

"The Latino population is exploding, and it is mostly a young population," Will Cain. Page 68.

I think this quote relates to the question of how these immigrants are struggling in America, but rather than struggling, it related to the positive things that all the Latino population has to offer to America. Having the Latinos here gives us as Americans a chance to learn about their culture. Also it enables us to be more aware of the lifestyles and hardships that people are going through in the rest of the world, as well as traditions, like quinceaneras that the Latinos still celebrate.

This fact really affects my life because of the expanding population of Latinos. I am able to learn about their culture by just observing them in their everyday lives and even being able to be a part of some of their cultural rituals because many of my friends are Latino.

What are some ways that the exploding Latino culture has or will affect you?

Literature Circles: Post #1

Quote #1: "We've seen the Latina population grow and explode in the last seventeen years and David's Bridal has grown with it," narrator. Page 41

I think that this quote really pertains to the topic of how Americans treat the characters in this book, and in this case the Latina population living in America. This quote relates, because it is showing how stores and shops, like David's Bridal have been changing because of the growth of the Latina girls. David's Bridal shop inparticular, has changed becuase they are now have a line in their store called BELOVED that displays dresses for Latina girls having quinceaneras.

I think that what David't Bridal shop decided to do was very nice and respectful, because it showed that they cared and respected their culture. Besides being able to make more money, the bridal shop made the quinceanera dresses so that the families could pay less for them, instead of having to buy an extremely expensive wedding dress to wear.

What do you think is one way that another store or shop could change to benefit Hispanic immigrants like Monica?


Quote #2: "If she chooses another color, she's ot really and quinceanera. It's more American like a sweet sixteen," Salvador Suriano. Page 41

This quote relates back to the subject of how the characters maintain their cultual ties to their homeland while living in America. This is because the Latina girls maintain their religous beliefs by having a quienceanera when they are fifteen. However, most of their quienceaneras have been tweaked a little to make them seem more like sweet sixteens. One of the ways they change is by wearing a different color dress, other than the traditional pink gown. Many Latina girls have switched to white, and then even more excentric colors.

One of the ways that my family and I have changed our religious beliefs is by celebrating Hanukah in a different way. Rather than reading prayers in Hebrew and just lighting the candles, over the years, my family has added our own traditions. For example, on each of the 8 days, my family and I talk about good traits that we should always follow, such as honesty and what it means to be humble and treat all other equally (which ties in my Christian beliefs as well).

What is one way you or your family have personalized a holiday or event that you celebrate?

Field Trip Reflection

Part I: From Haven to Home

From Haven to Home was a museum, which we visited to learn about Jewish Immigrants and the way they coped while living in America. This museum explored a total of 350 years that Jews have been living in America. The first thing that I learned about was the first Jews that came to America. It was a group of 23 Jews, including adults and children, who came to America in 1654 to seek a better life in America after being kicked-out by the Portuguese who were taking over their homeland in Brazil. When the Jews first came to America, they ran into some complications. They came to New Amsterdam and were discriminated against as Jews, therefore the governor refused to allow them own real estate.

The Jews were also involved with the growth of America, to make sure their religious beliefs were protected. For example, the 1st Amendment was created to protect the Jews right against religious discrimination, as well as other religions. The Jews also were ones to fight in the Civil War, siding with the North and the South, depending on where they lived. In the 1880’s there were millions of Jews that started to come over from different parts of Europe. Emma Lazarus was a Jewish poet who wrote a famous poem about the Statue of Liberty.

In 1923, America refused to let anymore Jews into America, until the controversies of Adolf Hitler came up, in which then America allowed Jews to come in again to escape the hostile concentration camps that millions of Jews went to and died from. Over time, Jews started to prosper in America and settle more into homes and be a part of everyday American life, while still holding onto their religion by building synagogue communities. Jewish holidays also became more familiar with other non-Jewish Americans.

Many Jews were very involved with politics. Some Jews have run for things like Congress and the U.S. state cabinet. Just like politics, Jews have been involved in America’s pop culture by participating in Broadway shows and radio and TV broad casting. Jewish woman have also had a big role in history. For example Rebecca Gratz started the first Sunday school for young Jews.
One of the biggest issues that occurred from the Jews was the concept of Zionism. Zionism was the movement in Europe to have Israel a country again. Luis D. Brandis was a famous lawyer and was also the spokesperson for the Zionism movement. Jews now, have Israel as their homeland again. Over time, Jews have made different lifestyles. The strict rules stated in Leviticus Chapter 11 are what Orthodox Jews follow, whereas different groups like Reformed and Conservative Jews follow a simpler set. In Conclusion, Jews have influenced and made a huge impacted on who America is today.

Part II: Children of Immigrants

The photograph that I chose to talk about is called Walt Disney Magnet School. Taken in 1998, it shows a close-up of a group of kids about five to seven years old who are all smiling. I really like this picture because it shows that all you need is a little effort to be able to coexist and have fun together without having to worry about someone’s background or ethnicity.

“The greatest thing I hope for in my life is to be a successful person and to have a family and friends to support me, not to be looked at by just the color of my skin, but who I am inside,” Samira Durakovic, Yugoslavia. This quote really stood out to me because I think that everyone can relate to what she wants in her future and be able to say that everyone is human, and the color of someone’s skin is not who you should judge them by.

Immigration Reflection

An immigrant is someone who travels from one country to another to establish a permanent life. Many people emigrate from their countries because of problems that they are dealing with. Many people are troubled because they aren't given any freedom, especially when it comes to religion. People around the world have to put up with the current government systems in their country which is often very unfair and does not give their citizens the equality that they deserve. Also, people who deal with family issues or mid-life crisises would immigrate to another country to try to start a new and better life in a different country. Safety is another problem. People all over the Middle Eastern part of the world constantly have to worry about what will happen to them that day and the next. Families often struggle to stay together and parents sometimes have a hard time just trying to be able to feed their children dinner each day.
Many immigrants are seeking a better life in America because of the amount of freedom we are given. We get to practice any religion we believe in and are given the right and freedom of speech anywhere in our great country. Even though our country may seem like one that is falling apart and is full of slobs, it offers a great amount of opportunity to be successful in any topic that you desire to learn or study. Americans today are very spoiled, so it seems. Other countries around the world do not have the luxury of beautiful and grand homes and the technology that we think would be almost impossible to live without. America is a country with freedom and opportunity, which is why our country is so grand.
Immigration has deeply affected the U.S. Without immigrants, we would most likely not be able to enjoy simple things like different foods from around the world. Anything from burritos to delicious curry dishes may not be as prominent in our country today. Having immigrants from other countries also allows us to get a close up of other cultures from around the world. Instead of learning about different life styles, we are actually able to observe different cultures through everyday life. Whether at work, school or around the neighborhood, we can learn about cultures from people who have experienced another life from a different country. Many laws have also been created to give immigrants the equal rights that we have in America. Laws, such as the 14th Amendment, give minorities the equal rights as Americans just because they are immigrants.
Immigration has impacted my life on a few different levels. For one, if my great-grandmother had not emigrated from Russia, I very well may not be here today. That also goes for my other great-grandmother who emigrated from Poland when she was young. Even today I may not have many of the friends that I have if they hadn't immigrated to America. Immigration has mainly affected me through the ancestors of my friends and family. In conclusion, immigration has affected America and its history for decades, and it will continue to hopefully change America for the better.